Luncheonette at the National College of Art and Design was awarded the title of Best Café in Ireland at the 2019 FOOD AND WINE Awards in association with Rémy Martin.
The tea and coffee offerings around the country have expanded and the humble café has finally come into its own. The ideal spot is somewhere you feel comfortable and welcome, as well as somewhere that serves up top-drawer food and drink.
The worthy winner of this category for 2019 was Luncheonette, the college canteen at NCAD. Opened by former art student Jennie Moran as an art project in 2013, Luncheonette has become a hub for students, as well as those around the college. A delicious, regularly changing menu is served at the café at an extremely reasonable price point. The innovative café is manned by students from the college, who are an integral part of the team, while chefs Siobhán Byrne and Fiona Whelan run the kitchen.
To find out more about her win, we spoke to Jennie after the ceremony.
How do you feel about winning this award?
"It was very shocking. We were completely flabbergasted, there were other gorgeous cafés in the category so I was astonished that we as a college canteen were picked. It was such a generous thing for the judging panel to support us. Luncheonette is also an art project so means a lot to be judged alongside other gorgeous places. For us to come to the attention of FOOD AND WINE is so special and meaningful to me and the rest of the team."
What can we expect to see from you and the Luncheonette team over the next year?
"We want to keep developing in terms of food and place. A big thing for us is to go deeper into sustainability across all aspects of Luncheonette, like the workplace, work-life balance and food waste, so there is lots that we’re trying to do.
I also want to make a book that, as well as recipes, would archive Luncheonette as a project. I did sculpture in NCAD and ended up with the keys to the canteen, where would you see that? There’s so much support from NCAD, the staff, students and the community around us are amazing. Our customers are so generous and joyful, they really support us."
Did you enjoy the Awards?
"Yes, I absolutely loved the atmosphere, it was so beautiful. Everyone was so enthusiastic and celebratory. There was no scepticism or any massive egos that you sometimes see with chefs. There was such a lovely atmosphere and it was a great way to celebrate. We were delighted to be there."
Follow Luncheonette on Instagram. Luncheonette will reopen at the National College of Art and Design on Monday, September 16th.
Photography by Paul Sherwood.
